


Long Black Veil

by Smarmel93



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, F/M, First Time, Romance, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 09:12:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10964184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smarmel93/pseuds/Smarmel93
Summary: "All right. I'll marry the princess of the Sky People," he said and paused before he continued. "It will be a sacred marriage, celebrated by the Commander herself. The Skaikru clan will be legitimately admitted in the Kongeda and no one will oppose this, not even Nia," and here the words began to become heavy and make him feel dizzy."Why do we have to kill the princess?" he murmured angrily, shifting his gaze on Lexa.





	1. I will do it

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, this is my first fanfiction. I'm excited!  
> I had this idea in my mind for a while and I felt the need to start writing it down now, a few days before the S4 finale (I'm freaking out).  
> So, before you start reading: 
> 
> \- I'm Italian. I'm writing every chapter in Italian first. Sorry in advance if my English is super formal or cumbersome (please, give me feedbacks)  
> \- I love giving to my stories the right and complex context they deserve (give me feedbacks, tons and tons of them)  
> \- This is going to be long, very long  
> \- Slow burn Bellarke  
> \- Every chapter will be from one point of view, Bellamy or Clarke  
> \- Every chapter will be focused on one particular action or event  
> \- There will be action and plot twists, but most of all I enjoy details and dialogues  
> \- The general mood is dark and bitter 
> 
> This is the first chapter. The second one will come out in a few days, friday or saturday I think.  
> Thank you for the attention! :)

_Bellamy_  

 

It was not his first time in Polis, but for the first time he was allowed to set foot in the Tower.  
As prince of the Trikru clan and the son of Queen Anya, several times he had had to accompany his mother in the capital of the Kongeda, the coalition that tied the 12 clans in a union of stability, exchanges and alliances.

Bellamy knew well what were the duties of the leader of a clan towards the Kongeda and the Commander. He also knew that sooner or later he would have had the same obligations and the same responsibilities, at the death of Anya and if - only if - his clan would had received him as the new king.

Every clan leader must do his best to respect the coalition, must swear loyalty to the Commander and must always be ready to answer the call when necessary.  
All of this for Bellamy's life meant dozens of trips each year from Tondc - the village in which he lived and the benchmark for the whole Trikru clan - to Polis with his mother and her trusty chieftains.

Every time, however, he was required to wait for the end of the meetings outside the Tower, the residence of Commander Lexa, of her counselors, of the Nightbloods trained to attend one day to the bloody conclave that would have decreed the chosen one to take the place of Lexa, and of all the other pompous figures who were concerned to make the complicated machine that is the Kongeda work.

This time the story was different though.  
The meeting for which Lexa had urgently convened Anya was not like the others and even Bellamy had to be present. Mainly because it concerned him and his future.

It was an honour for him to be in the meeting room of the Commander and the fact that he had been accepted in the Tower was a reason of great pride, but he would have never expected the turn that the meeting took immediately shortly after the pleasantries of circumstance.

 

" _What?_ " he asked raising his voice and moving his appalled gaze by Lexa to her mother Anya and also on Indra, the head warrior of Tondc and trusted friend of his family. The other warrior chieftains of his clan - Aaron, Ophir, Ebony and Cornelia-  were in total silence.

Lexa’s icy gaze was a pretty clear warning: there was nothing to discuss about the decision already taken and especially he would not have had any say in that situation.

"It is decided. We have already made an agreement with the leaders of the Sky People" Anya said slowly, with a steady voice, staring Bellamy right in the eyes. Her gaze was hard, but it also leaked a certain nervousness.

"We don't ask you to be happy about it. We ask you to do what is right for your people."

"For the whole coalition." Indra intervened. She seemed to be the most convinced and relaxed among all. As if Lexa had just declaimed the exact formula to solve every problem. And surely for her it was so.

"You are asking me to participate in a cold-blooded murder. And to lie to every clan. This is your plan of justice and peace?" hissed Bellamy.

He stood up from the long rough wooden table that dominated the hall and to which all the participants of the meeting were seated. He leaned the palms of his hands on the rough surface of the table and his bust was slightly stretched forward, towards Lexa. She gave no sign of any concern.  
Her gaze had darkened and saddened, as if Bellamy's last words awakened in her an indefinite sense of guilt and anguish.

She remained silent. Then she said "Peace comes with a price. And sometimes the money you use to buy this peace is filthy of innocent blood. Our hands and our consciences will be cleaned by the prosperity we will guarantee to the whole Kongeda."

"Mother, don't..." Bellamy backed off the table, confused and lost. The phrase died in his throat, as well as the words he meant to say. He didn't know what to think.

"Bellamy, it's the only way. It is the only way we have to allow the Sky People to be accepted by everyone in the coalition and it is the only way we have to stop the Azgeda" Anya said, this time with greater conviction.

"Your father would agree."

 

 _His father.  
_ Bellamy barely had knew him. He could not really know what his father would or _would not_ do.

His memories of him seemed to belong to a dream, to another life. Aran, the king of the Trikru clan, had been killed years before in battle during one of the many territorial conflicts with the Azgeda, when the Ice Nation was ruled by the fearsome Noah, father of the equally fearsome Queen Nia.

The Commander of the time, from the Sangedakru, gave very little value to compromises and peace: he had not taken a position in the diatribe, leaving among the two clans numerous outstanding issues.

Lexa was different, everyone knew it.

For her the coalition was everything and since she had become the Commander, in a very young age, she had worked for peace, healing conflicts old like the world and clutching alliances. The Trikru clan had never been so powerful and popular.

The Azgeda people, characterized by a very warmongering disposition, certainly did not think so: Nia did not believe in the coalition, she saw it only as a restriction and did not support the choices taken by Lexa, too lenient and weak for her.

"It's just a matter of time" blurted Indra. "Nia is publicly questioning the authority of Lexa. The other clans do not trust the Sky People and are listening to her. Our spies also report strange movements in the Azgeda armies. The irreparable is going to happen and we have an opportunity to stop it."

Bellamy was still standing. He approached the table again and leaned his hands to the back of the chair. Indra's gaze was untenable for him. He had never been able to cope with the hardness of her big eyes black as pitch.

He stared at an indefinite point of the table and impulsively posed a question for which he already knew the answer.

"All right. I'll marry the princess of the Sky People" he said and paused before he continued. "It will be a sacred marriage, celebrated by the Commander herself. The Skaikru clan will be legitimately admitted in the Kongeda and no one will oppose this, not even Nia" and here the words began to become heavy and make him feel dizzy.

" _Why do we have to kill the princess?_ " he murmured angrily, shifting his gaze on Lexa.

Lexa sighed. She got up slowly and came up to the large window that opened from the Tower over the entire city of Polis.

The view was breathtaking. The sky was clear, the air stinging, the horizon was fiery and every house of Polis was immersed in singular games of light and shadows. The sunset was close.

 

"The marriage would calm the other clans, but not the Azgeda. Sky People or not, Nia is only interested in killing me, breaking the coalition, subduing the weaker clans, putting to the throne one of her Nightbloods and dictating law" she said with a peremptory, but empty tone.

"Killing the princess and laying the blame on the Ice Nation will unleash the reaction of all and we could finally act. _There's no more time. I don't have more time._ "

All those present began to nod and to murmur. Only Bellamy noticed how the last words pronounced by Lexa sounded strange, suffering, agitated.

Each clan had its own culture, but certain things were universally recognized as sacred and untouchable. Like covenant marriages between royal blooded princes and princesses.

Other things, however, were considered by all clans as profane, reprehensible and punishable with the highest penalty, like the assassination in her abode of a just married princess.  
For such a sin, committed by a single person, an entire clan could be destroyed and eliminated.

This was Lexa's plan.

Their culture worked in this way. Wars and massacres could be forgiven, but what was sacred was to be respected at all costs.  
With the approval of the whole Kongeda, the Ice Nation would have been wiped out.

Bellamy knew all this.

No more Azgeda, no more unnecessary conflicts. Lexa’s project was desperate, but it had its own logic. Simply, he refused to admit it.

"This is madness, Commander!" he roared.

" _Bellamy!_ " Anya hissed furiously, turning herself up.

Lexa lifted a hand and Anya silenced, but without taking away from her son the menacing gaze.

“Bellamy. Your feelings of honesty and compassion honour you" Lexa said, moving her gaze from the view of Polis to Bellamy. Her voice was calm, soft, almost tender.

"When your time will come, you will be a formidable leader. However, war and fear can drag the purest of men into a dark abyss. You don't want this. You don't want to guide your people into a tremendous world, from one battle to another. You don't want to become a ruthless monster. You do not want to see who you love ripped away from the war or forced to survive in terror" she continued, without taking her gaze off from Bellamy’s lucid eyes.

 

_You do not want to see who you love ripped away from the war._

His thought flew immediately to his younger sister, Octavia.

"You want what I want, Bellamy. Peace. Prosperity. Serenity. The chance to live and not just to survive. And you want this not for you, but for the others. When I say that peace has a price, I mean this and you know it. We're asking you a lot, but I know you'd do everything for the salvation of your people."

It was true.  
He would have done anything. He would have done everything to ensure his people a future of peace. Everything.

The room was suddenly filled with silence. Bellamy returned to sit at the table. He crossed the gaze of his mother, that was not furious anymore, but filled with hope. Indra also seemed quiet: she knew that Lexa’s words had achieved the right effect.

"Bellamy, your time to be a leader has come and you have to assume your responsibilities. Your clan is asking you to. The Kongeda is asking you to." Anya said.

Lexa returned to the table too.

Bellamy felt deprived of energy. He felt emptied. Every attempt at rebellion would have been vain and useless. He perceived the grave weight of the future of all his people on himself and knew that he had no choice. All the looks were pointed at him.

 

_Our hands and our consciences will be cleaned by the prosperity we will guarantee._

_You don't want to guide your people into a tremendous world, from one battle to another._

Lexa's words continued to resonate in his head.

Could he possibly refuse to fulfil his duty? Could he allow himself to have on his conscience the decline of the coalition and the suffering of his people?

After several minutes of silence, Bellamy sighed and closed his eyes.

"I will do it."

Lexa hinted a smile and nodded. The pact was done.


	2. We all have our responsibilities, right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Clarke" Abby started.  
> Clarke stopped and stiffened.  
> "Clarke I know. I hate this situation too. You're my baby, it wasn't easy to accept it. It'll be tough, but you will survive this. You're strong, you're wise, you can handle this, even if you don't want to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Here I am again.  
> This update is about Clarke. As I told you, I like to describe single actions and events and I think you can surely tell it from this chapter. 
> 
> The next chapter will be about the marriage in Polis, so it will be a little more eventful and lively.  
> I'm working on it and I think I will publish it in a few days!  
> See you soon guys and enjoy the reading!

_Clarke_

 

Her mother had told her the news early in the morning.  
She told her that she was supposed to marry the prince of the Trikru clan. Queen Anya's son.

 _Bellamy_.

She already had known Anya, in far from happy circumstances: since she and her people had arrived on Earth from space with the space station _The Ark_ , there had been very few days of peace and the conflicts with the Trikru clan were constant and serious.

Only the goal of defeating a common enemy, the Mountain Men from Mount Weather, joined the two peoples and put aside the grudge.

The victory paved the way for negotiations, but the true difference had been the rescue of the Commander Lexa: the battle at Mount Weather almost killed her, but Clarke and her mother Abby managed to heal her.

Anya scared her.

Olive complexion, dark, hard and sharp eyes, always surrounded by symbols and drawings of war, messy hair, fiery and wild expression. He was a true warrior, as strong as a storm and fearsome as a lioness.  
Clarke wondered if her son was like her. She shuddered and drove away the thought.

She spent the afternoon reading an old book, one of the very few that survived the apocalypse and the return of _The Ark_ on Earth. It was a collection of fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm. She adored those stories, sweet and terrible at the same time.

She was lying on the bed, in her small metal room: There were only one bed, a small, shabby closet and a chair.  
It wasn't much, but it was home.

It was the new home that she and her people were laboriously trying to build in _Arkadia_ , the camp that had arisen from the remains of _The Ark_ , from some makeshift tents and from the first shacks.

Every day that passed was enough for her to understand that they would never exceed their first winter on Earth.  
Not if the war wasn't over for real. Not without peace. Not without alliances. Not without trade and protection.

The strong and decisive idea of being able to help her people with a combined marriage was the only thing to prevent her from breaking down. She would have done anything for her people. Everyone knew it and her mother - Chancellor of Arkadia - knew it.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Can I come it?"

She recognized her mother's voice. The door opened a little, without waiting for an answer.

 _No one gave a damn about her opinion anymore_ , Clarke thought impulsively while she sat on the bed, closing the book.

"Yes." she said with a low voice.

Abby stepped in quickly, closing the door behind her. Her gaze was fixed on Clarke's and it was a sweet, tender look, full of affection. It was a look that Clarke hadn't seen in a long time and that she had almost forgotten. It was as if, all of a sudden, Abby remembered to have a daughter that she loved immensely.

She sat next to Clarke. They remained quiet for a few minutes.

Clarke didn't want to talk. She was not angry, she simply wanted to pretend to be small and free of responsibility, at least for a few hours, at least before everything would change.

She wanted to leave to her mother the difficult task of being the adult and finding the right words.

"Tomorrow we will leave at dawn. Kane will come with us. Jaha and Pike will stay here"

Abby said quietly, as if she was telling the plan for a family picnic.

"We will head to polis accompanied by the soldiers and the leaders of the Trikru clan that will be present at the ceremony. There will also be Anya and… _Bellamy_. "

She pronounced his name with a bit of embarrassment. Abby knew nothing about him. She knew nothing about her daughter's future husband. She only knew he was a few years older than Clarke.  
She didn’t know his appearance, nor his character. She had no information to share with her daughter to reassure her a little.

Other than that, she knew that every comfort attempt would have been useless.

"And then?" Clarke finally asked.

"What will happen?"

She looked at her mother. Her voice trembled a little and she damned herself for that.

"Then our people will be safe. Thanks to you"

Abby hinted a smile.

"And I promise you, we will meet again. As soon as I’ll be back from the trip with Lexa, I’ll come to you. And you’ll be allowed to come here as many times as you want, I'm sure. You will see your people grow." she whispered.

_After the trip, of course._

Clarke snorted. She was worried. She was done this way: even in the most difficult moments for her, she always thought about others.

In addition to the arranged marriage, to admit the Sky People in the Kongeda with the approval of all the Clans the Commander Lexa had requested that Abby, as the leader of the Skaikru clan, would accompany her on a sacred journey to visit and bring homage to all the clans.

It would have been an occasion of great importance for everyone and would have allowed her people to gain trust and allies. Despite this, she was worried about her mother's safety. Could they really trust them?

"Everything will be all right, Clarke"

Abby said, as if she had been able to read in her daughter's mind.

"I'll be fine. Marcus will be with me. Our best guards will be with me. Don't worry. It's something I have to do."

"We all have our responsibilities, right? Mine will cost me my freedom apparently."

Clarke said, evading Abby's gaze. She felt the anger.

She hoped that she would have been able to face this situation with great maturity, but a flush of warmth wrapped her chest and face and suddenly she felt lost.

She never thought about marriage. It was hard for her even to think about truly connect with someone. She loved pleasure, but her heart was free and she was fine with it. She wanted to live like this and wanted to establish the rules. But now she couldn’t.

She subtracted her hands from Abby’s ones and got up from the bed. She didn't have much room to move in, so she swung nervously on herself a couple of times, with her arms crossed, and then she turned her back to her mother.

"Clarke" Abby started.

Clarke stopped and stiffened.

"Clarke I know. I hate this situation too. You're my baby, it wasn't easy to accept it. It'll be tough, but you will survive this. You're strong, you're wise, you can handle this, even if you don't want to."

Clarke remained motionless, still turned. She was crying, uncontrollably, and she didn't want to be seen.

Abby got up and hugged her from behind. She kissed her hair and rocked her, whispering every now and then a sweet shhh shhh to calm her. They remained like that for an indefinite time, until Clarke felt her legs become heavy and the sleep began to close her eyelids.

Abby helped her to lie down.

Before leaving, she threw her a last look full of sadness. She closed the door quietly and went away.


End file.
